This invention relates, generally to loosefill cushioning material for protecting during shipping an item packaged in a box or carton, and more particularly to an efficient method and means for handling and conveying that loosefill.
Loosefill, both plastic (expanded polystyrene) and starch-based, is a common cushioning material used to protect, during shipping, an item packed in a box or carton. The loosefill is shipped from the manufacturer to the customer, for example mail order house, in tractor trailers. Once at the customer, the loosefill must be removed from the trailer and stored by the customer for eventual use.
The present practice of unloading the trailer of the loosefill involves the truck driver or operator using a suction hose, normally 8-10 inches in diameter, to suck the loosefill from the trailer through the hose to a storage net in the customer""s building. That person slowly walks the suction hose from the back of the trailer to the front of the trailer to suck out all the loosefill. This process typically takes about 45-60 minutes, and ties up the person emptying the trailer the entire time. In addition, the action of the person walking through the trailer necessarily generates dust and other airborne particles as the person crushes loosefill beneath his feet.
It would be desirable to have a process of unloading the trailer of loosefill which is quicker, does not require constant xe2x80x9cbaby-sittingxe2x80x9d by a person, i.e. is automated, and which does not create dust and other airborne particles due to crushing the loosefill underfoot.
The present invention attains the stated objectives. In one aspect of the invention, apparatus for handling loosefill and conveying the loosefill from one location to another comprises a container having a bottom and sides, the container being adapted to receive and contain therein a quantity of loosefill, a blower positioned at one end of the container, and conduit which channels air from the blower toward the other end of the container and which redirects the air back toward the one end of the container to thereby convey therewith the loosefill.
In a preferred embodiment of this aspect of the invention, a first diverter extends from one end of the container to the other end of the container and diverts the loosefill toward the conduit. A second diverter is positioned so as to divert the loosefill around the blower and to the one end of the container. The conduit includes openings therein oriented so as to direct air escaping therefrom toward the one end of the container at an angle of between 0xc2x0 and 90xc2x0 relative to a longitudinal axis of the container. The angle is in a range of about 10xc2x0 to 15xc2x0, and preferably is about 12.7xc2x0. The conduit extends from the one end of the container to the other end of the container and includes an upper surface which is sloped to prevent loosefill from gathering atop the conduit. The container may be a trailer of a tractor trailer or a storage net. A vacuum is positioned at the one end of the container which draws the loosefill out of the container.
In another aspect of the invention, a trailer has a bottom and sides and contains and hauls loosefill, and includes apparatus for handling and conveying the loosefill out of the trailer comprising a pair of blowers, one of which is positioned at each lateral side of the trailer and both of which are positioned at one end of the trailer, and conduit associated with each blower which channels air from the blower toward the other end of the trailer and which redirects the air back toward the one end of the trailer to thereby convey therewith the loosefill.
In a further aspect of the invention, a method of conveying loosefill from one location to another comprises providing a container of loosefill, providing an air source at one end of the container, directing air from the air source toward the other end of the container, and redirecting the air back towards the one end of the container to thereby convey therewith the loosefill to the one end of the container.
In a preferred embodiment of this aspect of the invention, the loosefill is diverted toward the returning air. The loosefill is diverted around the air source and to the one end of the container. The returning air is directed at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the container.
The invention provides the ability to unload a trailer of loosefill in approximately 30-40 minutes unattended, as opposed to 45-60 minutes attended. Unloading is thus quicker and the operator is freed up to pursue other tasks. Also, since the operator is no longer required to walk through the trailer of loosefill holding a suction hose, dust and other airborne particles are reduced thereby producing a cleaner unloading process.